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Heli-Max Axe CPv3 RTF Helicopter Review
By PMDrive1061
Mar 26, 2009, 04:10 PM
Introduction
Every so often, a model comes along which makes you scratch your head in wonder about how many high-end features could be packed into a model and still be affordable. The brand new Heli-Max Axe CPv3 comes ready to train new pilots and thrill experienced ones with a combination of beginner-friendly features such as training gear and an instructional DVD along with Bell-Hiller mixing, symmetrical blades and an idle-up switch on the transmitter for the 3D and forward flight guys and gals. As the name suggests, this is the third version of the original Axe, categorized as a mini-helicopter by Heli-Max. The original featured nickel metal hydride power, a geared tail rotor and CCPM mixing which, for benefit of beginners, refers to "collective/cyclic pitch mixing." Simply put, collective, cyclic pitch and throttle are electronically mixed, not mechanically mixed, resulting in far easier setup and maintenance. Next, came the CP-L with lithium polymer battery, anodized aluminum parts and Dean's® micro connectors. Finally, we have the subject of this review with precise, "Bell-Hiller" mechanical mixing similar to that on a full-sized heli, preinstalled, full-sized Dean's® Ultra™ connectors and a direct drive tail rotor with the advantages of simplicity over a belt drive and efficiency over a geared tail rotor. Add five-channel FM control and a price tag averaging just under US$200 and you have the perfect step up from coaxial helicopters or even smaller CCPM micro-helis. The latter happens to apply to me. Do you enjoy hopping up your models? A plethora of carbon fiber and CNC aluminum parts is as close as your friendly hobby dealer. You'll even get instructions both in the manual and online regarding the installation of an optional Futaba GY240 or Heli-Max HM4000 heading hold gyro for some really hardcore 3D action. Another important plus: The Heli-Max CPv3 is AMA Park Pilot Program certified. Click on the link in the infobox to learn more about this marvelous new program.
Contents and Accessories
Your new Heli-Max Axe CPv3 comes fully assembled and includes the following:
Accessories include:
You will need:
Getting Started
Battery Charging and Installation
There is no assembly required except for the training skids. You'll be looking at a fully assembled Axe CPv3 as soon as you open the box and remove the styrofoam top. Even the main rotor blades have been installed, if somewhat snug in the case of my model. All you'll need to do is apply the pressure sensitive decals to the canopy to complete the assembly. Before I removed the chopper from its box, I first opened the plastic envelope containing the operation manual and DVD since I really wanted to view the DVD before doing anything else. It is professional industrial quality all the way and very informative and entertaining. It showed a pilot in a high school gym putting the Axe through inverted flight, pirouetting circles and forward flight. The pilot was outstanding, but the thing I noticed above all was the way the Axe in the video tracked through its paces without the slightest hint of bobbing, wobble or twitching. The presentation then detailed the assembly and installation of the training skids, followed by an extremely helpful segment on basic control for those with no helicopter experience. Some serious kudos are due Heli-Max for a model which can take a pilot from raw beginner to basic 3D flight. According to the DVD, it takes about two hours to charge the supplied 910mAh li-po with the supplied .8A balancing charger. It was getting late, so I decided to take the battery, charger and adapter with me to work the next day. I plugged the charger into the adapter and I got the power indicator light. Plugging a discharged battery into the charger lights a second red light which turns green when the battery is fully charged. Imagine my rather pleasant surprise when the light immediately switched from red to green. Tried it again, same result. I plugged the battery into my big li-po charger when I got it home and sure enough, the voltmeter read 12.69 volts. Yes, Heli-Max shipped a fully charged li-po. Do check yours before you fly though. As for the charger itself, it's rated for use with any 3S li-po of 800mAh capacity and above with a standard sized balancing pigtail. This gives those who have a larger li-po charger the added convenience of a second charger after a day of flying. Skipping back to the first step in the manual, you're instructed to install eight AA-cell alkaline batteries in the transmitter. The good news: There's a built-in charging jack on the side of the transmitter for those who wish to install ni-cads. A Futaba charger has the proper connector and pin polarity, but you'll need one with an output of 12 volts.
If all is well when you switch on the transmitter, a green LED will light, signifying full power. The low battery warning is in the form of a flashing red LED to the left of the green one. Charging the flight battery is next, but since mine was charged, I popped the canopy off the frame and proceeded to install the decals.
Decal Application
The canopy itself is a nice example of vacuum molding with no trimming required. The retainer grommets and windshield come pre-installed. The finish appeared to be a bit hazy; think "lemon chiffon", and you'll be pretty close. Color choices certainly aren't a problem as evidenced by the photo of the decal sheet. I went with the most contrasting scheme possible, and the result really looks great in the air. It was impossible to remove the canopy's upper mounting grommets in order to apply the lightning bolt decal per the box art, requiring that an opening be created with an X-Acto. It also proved difficult to match the alignment between the left and right lightning bolts. A spray bottle with water is highly recommended; you'll likely have to lift and realign the decals several times to get it right. The "batwing" decal under the canopy's nose proved even harder to install; it refused to lay flat without wrinkling. I carefully slit the decal with the X-Acto to get it to lay down. Despite my care, the cuts are visible. Lots of decals are provided, including contrasting lightning bolt decals and a second batwing for a replacement canopy. A very nice and thoughtful touch.
Flying
Test Flying the Axe
I was losing the light fast and the wind, which had been blowing hard all day, had diminished slightly. I couldn't resist putting the Axe in the air. The li-po is secured to the frame with three rubber bands. I turned on the transmitter, brought the throttle trim all the way down as a safety precaution, made sure the throttle lever was all the way down and plugged the battery into the ESC. A green LED blinked momentarily before glowing steadily as the gyro stabilized. The gyro stabilizes quickly, but it's recommended that you avoid moving the model for at least ten seconds. Be aware that the motor is armed as you reinstall the canopy, especially since the battery makes reinstalling it a bit of a challenge, and don't lose the rubber retainers which help hold the front of the canopy in place; no spares are provided. Once I was through with the canopy, up came all the trims to neutral and up came the throttle once I'd set the Axe down. Throttle response was exceptionally smooth, much smoother than I was used to with my souped-up micro heli. So too was the feel of the transmitter sticks. Since this is a helicopter radio and not an airplane radio, the throttle has no detents. In my opinion, the feel of the sticks wouldn't have been out of place on a more expensive radio. Once the Axe lifted off, the wind started to move it around a bit, but I wasn’t worried. The tail control was absolutely rock solid, and there wasn't a hint of vibration from the main rotor. Collective was touchy, but I attributed it to the wind and to the ground effects. Trying to hover an unfamiliar helicopter in less-than-ideal circumstances was a dicey proposition, but one which the Axe responded to with real aplomb. I landed the Axe, throttled back up slowly to get it light on the skids and tried the tail control. The nose pointed exactly where I wanted it to despite the wind. In fact, the low-altitude hovering in general was great fun and would have been nearly impossible with my other heli. A plastic screwdriver is provided which allows you to adjust the gain and mixing functions on the receiver. When not in use, the screwdriver clips to the handle of the transmitter. Not wishing to tempt fate with windy conditions and fading light, I decided to call it a day.
Basics
The next day, the Axe and I were at the field. It was early afternoon with the sun high in the sky, no clouds and little to no wind. Except for the angle of the sun at that time of day, conditions were pretty much perfect. Immediately after reinstalling the battery and canopy, I did a recommended radio range check. With me for the first real flight of the Axe was Ken Alan, vice president of Kaminsky Productions in Cathedral City, California. Ken's both a friend and part-time coworker of mine, and he jumped at the opportunity to shoot the Axe. I put the Axe into a hover so that Ken could easily videotape it. Unlike the night before, the hover was darn near perfect with no wind to buffet it around. I don't fly rotary wing aerobatics, so I gave it some forward cyclic and the Axe was off like a shot, displaying no tendency whatsoever to "porpoise" at high speed which in this case I "guesstimated" to be in the neighborhood of 40 miles per hour, or nearly 65km/h. I may be wrong on that exact speed, but believe me, this helicopter is no straight-line slouch even with a brushed 380 under the frame. Maintaining straight and level flight was darn near as easy as doing it with an airplane. Bear in mind that virtually all of my experience had been on a very twitchy CCPM micro which porpoises something terrible in forward flight. My first time flying the Axe in forward flight had me doing so as if I'd been flying it for years. The video claims that the cyclic and collective are sensitive, and I agree. This is certainly not a bad thing; just be aware of it if you're just learning to fly. Tail control was nearly as quick and as accurate as on a simulator; there's no doubt the direct drive tail motor had a lot to do with that. It is, quite simply, far superior to a geared tail rotor. It also makes a heck of a neat high-pitched whirring sound at hover which varies with the gyro and rudder input. After a few passes for the camera, I returned the Axe to a low hover and set it down for a perfect landing. Unfortunately, that afternoon glare took its toll. I got disoriented on a subsequent flight because of the glare, and the Axe hit the tarmac. Thankfully, damage was limited to a broken blade grip and slightly crunched rotor blades. A quick call to the hobby shop netted me an order for the replacement parts, but make sure you order the correct grips. The number on the parts list in the back of the manual is for the regular Axe grips; the number on the exploded view page is the correct one. My replacements had a strange problem: The hole for the pivot arm was way too big to properly engage the mounting screw. I called Hobbico and explained the problem. Their solution was an entire Bell-Hiller kit intended to upgrade the earlier models to this model's Bell-Hiller mechanics. This is why I love these guys. These grips and their preinstalled pivot arms were correct, but if I ever break another grip, I'm going to lay out the cash for the upgraded CNC-machined aluminum grips and pivot arms. These should prove to be a wise investment given the extra precision machined parts should offer, not to mention a bit of extra crash resistance. Be careful as well when ordering a replacement tail motor. The part number in the manual is for the original Axe CP gear drive motor. There's a separate addendum packed with the manual which gives the proper part number for the direct drive version. I should mention that I tried the idle up feature during that same flight which allows the motor to run at 100% at what are normally the off and full throttle stick positions and approximately 50% when in the center position. This allows smoother forward flight as well as increased main rotor speed for easier hovering, but most importantly, it allows throttle control when the helicopter (and therefore the collective) is inverted. The transition at roughly half throttle was smooth with no loss or gain of altitude, but when I switched it on during that first flight, it caused a tremendous vibration in the main rotor when the motor came up to full speed. Switching back to normal mode immediately tamed the vibration. Keep in mind that the first time I'd gone to the idle up mode was before I'd crashed the Axe. When I repaired the crash damage, I noticed that the main rotor support spindle was out of round, but I couldn't say for sure whether or not that was the original cause. It was more than likely bent in the crash. I replaced the spindle and double-checked the linkage lengths (which were OK) as part of the repair and the vibration has gone away, so I'm filing the issue under "just one of those things."
Is This For a Beginner?
Yes, with the help of an experienced pilot. The control throws, while accurate, are also very sensitive for the benefit of aerobatic flying. It's easy to fly for someone with experience on a CCPM helicopter, but someone moving up from fixed pitch or coaxial needs to be aware of the additional sensitivity. The instructional DVD is a tremendous help and is geared for beginning flyers.
Gallery and Flight Video
Conclusion
The Heli-Max Axe CPv3 really is poised to train beginning pilots and thrill experienced pilots. It's an affordable and very viable alternative to more complicated and expensive machines. As a transitional pilot myself, I was amazed at just how well the Axe flew in comparison to my modified micro heli. Heck, let's just say there was no comparison. I can't recommend this helicopter highly enough. See you at the field!
Pluses and Minuses
Pluses include:
Minuses include:
Last edited by PMDrive1061; Mar 26, 2009 at 03:20 PM.. |
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Mar 26, 2009, 06:42 PM
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#2 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Eureka,Ca
Posts: 469
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Great review!
Nice flying although the music is weird  Tim |
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Mar 26, 2009, 06:47 PM
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#3 |
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I reject your reality!
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Palm Springs, California
Posts: 703
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Sheesh, everyone's a critic.
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Mar 26, 2009, 07:27 PM
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#4 |
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That whirly guy
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Vivian, LA
Posts: 830
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I didn't see a price listed in your review, so maybe I missed it.
It would appear that AXE is complacent in their helicopter engineering as this being the third version and they still can't get it right seeing how they still power the tail with a tail motor. That spells LOSER to me. I suppose if I were getting paid to post an ad on forums I'd probably support the product that's paying me too, so, you personally are forgiven. But the company really needs to have it spelled out to them. WE DON'T WANT TAIL MOTORS. You might pass that along to them because it obvious they don't read these forums to stay in touch with the user base or they would have knew that. In the past, they have been a little over the price range but being as they were supposedly an American based company I can live with that, if they would build what I wanted in a helicopter. But thanks for the review, now I can simply ignore the heli completely when I see it in a hobby shop without worrying that I might have missed a cool little heli to play with. Why am I harsh on them? Because this is there third try at making a helicopter. They need to wake up. The foreigners are kicking their a$$. |
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Mar 26, 2009, 07:45 PM
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#5 |
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I reject your reality!
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Palm Springs, California
Posts: 703
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It's in the infobox. It retails for $199, but I saw it in a recent Tower Hobbies ad for $179.
I can understand your frustration, but this is a relatively low-cost machine which honestly flies great. They have since introduced a 400-class heli with a belt-drive tail and while this is the third variation on the original theme, it's an improved theme. Believe me, I present these reviews warts and all. It wouldn't be fair to the company to gloss over a serious fault just to make "brownie points," so I'm brutally honest. |
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Mar 26, 2009, 11:51 PM
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#6 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Eureka,Ca
Posts: 469
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It's on tower right now for $149
Tim Its either this or a walkera 4g3 |
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Mar 27, 2009, 12:33 AM
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#7 |
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Not the sharpest of tools
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii
Posts: 541
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I am confused. There is a long thread in the micro forum covering the good, the bad and the ugly with this helicopter in all it's versions. Why is it suddenly popping up in the Mini forum
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...ghlight=axe+cp |
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Mar 27, 2009, 07:30 AM
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#8 | |
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Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: baltimore, md
Posts: 453
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Quote:
I'm sorry, but I cannot agree with your review. I bought mine from towerhobbies and thought it was great. but the tail motor blew before I can even get it in flight and had electronics burn out since then. I returned mine to tower/helimax for service and they said that it was not covered underwarranty becuase I installed the tail blades backward on the motor which made it work harder and burned out. I WILL NEVER BUY ANY HELIMAX PRODUCTS EVER AND HAVE NOT BOUGHT FROM TOWER SINCE. |
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Mar 27, 2009, 09:18 AM
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#9 |
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Aerobatic Addict
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Louisville, Kentucky
Posts: 348
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Canopy Decal Installation tip I read in RC Helicopter Magazine:
You basically want to coat the canopy with Windex. Any spot that is not covered with Windex the decal will stick to almost immediately. So get it nice and wet. It does work but be you will need three hands because the Windex allows you to slide the decal around to position it, it also allows the rest of the decal to slide around while you are positioning it. Put the canopy on the frame or something if you don't have anyone to hold if for you. Make sure you blot it good to get the bubbles out; you can use a pin to poke the big ones and get the air out. If you blot too hard or rub while it is still wet the decal will slide. But use your fingers to squeegee out the Windex to the decal edges. Then put it away overnight to let it dry. Believe it or not, it works extremely well! |
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Mar 27, 2009, 09:19 AM
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#10 |
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Aerobatic Addict
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Louisville, Kentucky
Posts: 348
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Also "Having to first connect the battery before installing the canopy" is fairly common with RC helicopters.
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Mar 27, 2009, 01:49 PM
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#11 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 207
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Nice review!
I didn't even notice the music, so when it was mentioned I had to play the video over again, music sounds like 1960's action TV music, but I don't really see a problem with that!
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Mar 27, 2009, 01:53 PM
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#12 |
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That whirly guy
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Vivian, LA
Posts: 830
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Well, let's think about that.
Music tends to get in the way of the sound the gears make. How are we supposed to know if the gears mesh well? In a review, the potential customer would probably want to hear the helicopter instead of music. Music has it's place in heli videos but not a in review. |
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Mar 27, 2009, 03:37 PM
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#13 |
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It'll buff right out
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Palm Bay,FL
Posts: 397
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Good review!
So I'm curious about this line... "The Heli-Max CPv3 is AMA Park Pilot Program certified." So what makes this helicopter "certified" for the AMA Park Pilot program? Is it just because it's electric and falls under the AMA guidelines for a park pilot? I was curious if the AMA is now going out to manufacturers and sticking some kind of label on certain planes and helis. |
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Mar 27, 2009, 03:55 PM
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#14 |
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I reject your reality!
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Palm Springs, California
Posts: 703
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Whoa...lots of questions!
 *Didn't see the thing on Tower for $149, but if it's that inexpensive, get one. *Don't know why it's in the mini forum. I don't decide that. *Sorry about your experience. My past experiences with Hobbico have been absolutely wonderful. Your comments are more than welcomed; remember, "warts and all." This is a review and not an ad. *NICE tip regarding the decals. Will definitely keep that one in mind and it should be added to the manual. *My other heli can have the canopy in place as the battery is connected. I'm writing this from the POV of a pilot transitioning up from a competitor. *I kinda liked the music. Just something to add a bit of flavor. *Good point re. the sound, but there was no sound recorded and I had to add something. Rest assured the gear mesh is fine. Nice and quiet. *Another good question. I'm going to assume that you're correct in your assumption. I'll have to investigate further and comment here. As an aside, I too wondered about the use of a tail motor instead of a belt or a torque tube. It became clear when I learned that they'd introduced a larger 400-class heli. To offer a belt drive and other high-end mechanicals in a $200 model may well have cannibalized sales of the more expensive model. So far, no problems short of the initial idle-up vibration and it flies well enough that I'm now trying my hand at some basic aerobatics, including loops and chandalles. Last edited by PMDrive1061; Mar 27, 2009 at 04:01 PM. |
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Mar 27, 2009, 07:57 PM
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#15 |
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Test Pilot, Stand Clear
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Mount Vernon, Ohio
Posts: 1,167
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I bought 3 of the CP V3's. On 2 of them, the 3 in 1 cooked on the 2nd or 3rd flight. Helimax doesn't want to discuss the matter with me even though I spend a "ton" of money on their rc's. Or rather I used to spend a ton of money on their rc's. Tower can pound sand...
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